“One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.” Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Motivation Mondays: FRIENDSHIP – Our Friendships Matter!

International Day of Friendship: I had the opportunity, earlier this year in Paraguay, to commend that pioneer, Dr. Ramón Bracho, for his conviction that just as friendship builds bridges between people, it can also inspire peace in our world. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let’s face it, friends make life a lot more fun. Charles R. Swindoll

What does Friendship mean to you? As we approach the celebration of International Day of Friendship: on July 30, and National Friendship Day on August 7, it is apropos to pause and reflect on all the wonderful friendships we have formed over the years. Without trustworthy friends and family around us, it can be hard to weather the storms of life. Friends support our efforts, tell the truth we don’t want to face, and motivate us to step forward and try again.

What do we know about the International Day of Friendship ? It was an initiative proposed by UNESCO and followed through by the General Assembly in 1997. The original impetus was to encourage a culture of peace around the world and by 1999, it had adopted 8 areas of concern that remain in the forefront of international relations around the the globe. They were: foster a culture of peace through education; promote sustainable economic and social development; promote respect for all human rights; ensure equality between women and men; foster democratic participation; advance understanding, tolerance and solidarity; support participatory communication and the free flow of information and knowledge; promote international peace and security. UN Background. We can all do our bit on July 30 and on August 7 (which btw is a special day for me) to foster friendships across cultures, creeds and any boundaries that exist. What do you plan to do to bridge the cultural gap to friendship?

“A friend is what the heart needs all the time.” Henry Van Dyke

Motivation Mondays: FRIENDSHIP – Our Friendships Matter!

Motivation Mondays: FRIENDSHIP – Our Friendships Matter!

Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it’s all over. Octavia Butler

What about National Friendship Day ? While World Friendship Day vis a vis International Friendship Day was proposed in 1958 by Dr. Ramón Bracho and picked up steam through the UN, when we talk about National Friendship Day, we must give credit to Joyce Hall, the founder of Hallmark cards who proposed this special day in 1930. She wanted folks to take advantage of the day by buying special cards for loved ones and sharing them with people around the globe. Joyce’s idea caught on over time and soon became a regular national event. Even though the original date was set for August 2nd, it is now celebrated every year on the first Sunday of August.

What I love about the effort that led to the creation of both Friendship Days is that it took the inspiration and motivation of folks who cared about the special, revered meaning and value of friendship to make it happen. What we put our hearts and minds to can be accomplished, if we stay patient and solicit the support of others who hold the same idea. Don’t hide your talent or dreams. Explore them and connect with trusted friends and other like-minded souls to bring it to fruition.

The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for June and July 2016 are:

More Below!“There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” Thomas Aquinas

Motivation Mondays: FRIENDSHIP – Our Friendships Matter!

Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity. Khalil Gibran
Friendship… is not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything. Muhammad Ali

What do you cherish about your Friendships? We need to remember that to have a friend, we need to be a friend too as it takes two people with a motivated intention to make a friendship work. Do our friendships matter? Sure, sometimes we find things about each other that irk us, we make time to talk things out and remember the bond that brought us together as friends. Because my family traveled and moved quite a bit in my early years, I learned to make friends quickly and be accommodating of changes and shifts in our friendships. My closest friends go way back, and one thing that has always pulled us together is laughter. Not only laughter in good times, but the ability to ease each others woes with humor in harsh times. I value my friendships and stay motivated to keep them alive by staying in touch as often as I can, by connecting to share a meal, a phone chat and /or a visit. What about you?

Motivation Mondays is open to anyone who wishes to share a motivational quote, photo, personal challenge or a post that encourages others to start the week on an upbeat note.Basic Instructions: Each week, I will have a motivation word to help us create a response. (See listed words for the months above/below)Email address: You may email or share your post as a comment and I will add it to the round-up of related posts. email it to: contact(@)mirthandmotivation(.)comCategory tag: – Share your post using Motivation MondaysTwitter hashtag: – Use this on Twitter #MotvnMDedicated Page: There is a dedicated page for Motivation Mondays. It has the same instructions and will include other helpful tools and a link to the round-upFacebook Page:MotivationOnMondays Join our page and add your post and/or any motivational piece you think will be helpful to others.Facebook Community: We have a Facebook community forum to compliment the page. It serves as another way to share uplifting posts and thoughts. Please join in and add your voice.

Badge: – I created a fun badge using PicMonkey’s free photo editing tools. You can create your own, use WordPress’ integrated tool on your blog or you are welcome to use mine. (see dedicated page)Tag: – Motivation MondaysHashtag: – #MotvnMRelated Posts

Whenever I think of friendship, I think of our two pugs. We were lucky enough to have Wally for 13 years and Z for 9. Not only where they the best of buddies to each other, but to us as well. Z lived a year beyond Wally and died just a couple of months ago. I still miss each of them terribly. They offered me the gift of not only their friendship, but taught me what it truly meant.